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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25737571">Khera &amp; The Liminal Diner</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonWrites/pseuds/MonWrites'>MonWrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Monster Girls | Monster Boys, Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Catboys &amp; Catgirls, Catgirl, Conversations, Diners, Goblin girl - Freeform, Goblins, Orc girl, Orcs, Original Catgirl Character(s) - Freeform, Original Character(s), Original Dragon Character(s) - Freeform, Original Goblin Character(s) - Freeform, Original Orc Character(s) - Freeform, dragon girl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 02:07:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,107</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25737571</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MonWrites/pseuds/MonWrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A young orc girl, struggling with finding a relationship, discusses life with her diverse cast of friends in an elderly catwoman's diner. Originally posted on the Excellent-Monster-Girl-Ideas Tumblr.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Khera &amp; The Liminal Diner</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Originally posted on Excellent-Monster-Girl-Ideas.</p><p>In the year 20XX, humanity has discovered a second universe, populated not by humans but by an extraordinarily large number of diverse races. These various peoples are similar to humans in many ways, but completely alien in others. This second world, known as Pangaea, is the birthplace this story's cast; however, it takes place entirely in the human world (in other words, our own).</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><br/>
Khera couldn't help but slump as she took her seat in the diner. <em>Once again, rejected</em>, she thought with a sigh. "Orcs don't cry," her family always told her, but after years of failing to find love, she couldn't help but let out a few tears.</p><p>As she waited for the waitress to come, she thought about her latest crush and wiped her tears with her handkerchief. "I'm not into tall girls," he had said. Those five simple words had verbally stabbed the 7-foot orc woman through the heart.</p><p>At least it was better than other times she was rejected. One elf boy she tried asking out said he wasn't into tusks. Another boy, a merman this time, told her he couldn't stand the color green. Even a human - <em>a human, of all people!</em> - rejected her by saying he didn't want a girl stronger than he.</p><p>As she was thinking about these things, the waitress arrived. She was an elderly cat-woman, definitely a tabby judging by the hair, with a name-tag reading "Muse." "Evenin', Khera," she greeted.</p><p>"Hey," Khera replied, her face down.</p><p>"Aw, why so glum?" Muse asked, placing a hand on her hip and another on the table.</p><p>"Ah, nothin', just... guy trouble."</p><p>"Aw, I didn't know you had a guy," Muse said, giving a gentle smile.</p><p>"That's the problem, I don't."</p><p>"Oh, I see, I see. Well, then, ah... what can I get you this evening?"</p><p>"Triple burger," Khera said. "With a large Pixie Cola."</p><p>"Sure," the old woman replied. "Anything else?"</p><p>Khera shook her head.</p><p>"I'll bring it right away," Muse replied, leaving the table.</p><p>Khera sighed, continuing to think about past rejections. <em>What am I doing wrong?</em> she thought before wiping yet another tear from her eye.</p><p>Some time passed before another patron entered the diner, her arrival announced by a bell over the doorway. Khera turned to the door out of curiosity. It was a certain dragon girl wearing a black leather jacket over her red-scaled arms.</p><p>"Yo, Khera! Thought I'd find you here," she said.</p><p>"Hi, Eza," Khera said, not facing Eza as she sat in the booth across from her, uninvited.</p><p>"Got your text. That sucks, man," Eza said, taking her leather jacket off and setting it in her lap. The red scales on her arms and shoulders faintly glimmering in the dim light. "Sounds like a real jackass, too."</p><p>Khera nodded, wiping away more tears from her eyes. "I'm... thinkin' 'bout givin' up on findin' a guy."</p><p>"What?!" Eza exclaimed. "Nah, c'mon, man! One dumb guy doesn't mean you gotta give up on all of 'em. I've known you for how long? Like, six years? You've <em>always</em> wanted a boyfriend!"</p><p>"Yeah, but like-"</p><p>"'But' nothin'! It's like my mom always said: If you want love, chase it and never look back!"</p><p>"Your mom's in jail."</p><p>"Hey, the guy <em>told</em> her he was eighteen!"</p><p>"He was an <em>elf</em>, Eza."</p><p>"That doesn't- that's not the point!" Eza half-shouted. "Look, the point is, you want a boyfriend, right?"</p><p>Silence hung over the two for a brief moment. Khera glanced up at her friend with a smile. "Yeah, I do."</p><p>"Then don't give up! The right guy will come to you!"</p><p>"But, like... how?" Khera asked.</p><p>"Hmm..." Eza stroked her thin with her clawed hand. "How 'bout loitering at a mall or somethin', holdin' a sign that says 'Seeking 18-21 year old girlfriend-free boy' or somethin'-"</p><p>"Oh my gosh, Eza," Khera laughed.</p><p>Eza laughed with her. "Thank <em>krazk</em>, I got you to laugh."</p><p>"Did you just swear in Goblin?" Muse asked with a chuckle, returning to the table with Khera's burger and soda. "So nice to see you, Eza."</p><p>Eza laughed heartily. "Been hangin' around Tekkati too long. You know how she slips into her native tongue when she gets pissed."</p><p>"Oh, I hear her all the time," Muse laughed in return. "Now, what can I get you, Eza dear?"</p><p>"Just a beer is fine," the dragon girl replied, leaning back with her arms outstretched. "Whatever's available."</p><p>"That's fine," said Muse, "but you better not drive home on that motorcycle of yours if you do."</p><p>"Aw, c'mon, it's just one beer," Eza complained. "Besides, dragons have, like, ten times the alcohol resistance of a human!"</p><p>"Isn't it ten times <em>worse</em>?" Khera muttered as she smirked.</p><p>"Hush," Eza said, quickly turning her head to Khera and back to Muse. "C'mon, just one beer?"</p><p>"Alright, alright," Muse chortled. "I swear, I feel like your mother sometimes, Eza."</p><p>"Yeah, you nag just like her!" Eza called as she walked away.</p><p>Khera laughed at their exchange, taking a big bite of her meal and a sip of her soda. As she did, another bell rang as a new guest entered the diner: a four-foot tall, curvy goblin girl wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses.</p><p>"Hey, guys!" she said as she approached Khera and Eza's table.</p><p>"Yo, Tekk!" Eza greeted as the green-skinned girl leaped into her booth. "How's everyone's favorite shortstack doin'?"</p><p>"Oh, I'm doing <em>awesome</em> right now," she said with enthusiasm. "I <em>just</em> bought the place!"</p><p>"The restaurant?" Khera asked.</p><p>"<em>Krazk</em> yeah!" Tekkati shouted, raising her fists. "The dream's coming true! I'm finally gonna fulfill my lifelong dream of owning a pho shop!"</p><p>"...Dude, you first ate pho, like, three years ago," Eza said.</p><p>"My life didn't <em>begin</em> until then! Ever since I first came to the human world and ate pho, I've been addicted to the stuff! It's the soup of kings- nay, the soup of <em>gods</em>!"</p><p>"Oh, Tekkati! Good to see you, dear," Muse said warmly as she returned to their booth with Eza's beer. "Here you are, Eza dear."</p><p>"Hell yeah! Thanks!" Eza said, snatching the bottle and quickly opening it with a draconic, clawed thumb.</p><p>Muse laughed. "That's hardly the way to speak to an old lady like me," she admonished.</p><p>"I've heard you say worse," Tekkati said.</p><p>"Oh, that was one time," Muse replied. "So, did you buy the restaurant?"</p><p>"Yep! It's gonna be great! I wanna do a lot of the same stuff you do here, like having lots of room for larger Pangaeans like lamias and centaurs, adjustable seats for differently-sized races... y'know, that kind of stuff."</p><p>Khera looked around the diner. She had never noticed how spacious it was before. "Oh wow, I never even payed attention to that."</p><p>Muse smiled and nodded. "We try to accommodate as many races as possible. We're even going to start using moisturizing seats for mermaids and other semi-aquatic Pangaeans once the shipment comes in."</p><p>"Oh man, I gotta do that!" Tekkati said.</p><p>"So, do you have a name for it?" Khera asked, hand under her chin.</p><p>"Oh, I never told you? I've had it planned for years!" The goblin girl exclaimed. "See, the place is gonna have this biiiig line outside it, since there's gonna be, like, brazillions of people coming, right?"</p><p>"That's not a number, but continue," Khera said.</p><p>"So, because of that inevitable massive line, I shall dub the restaurant - get ready - the <em>PHO QUEUE</em>!"</p><p>The few other diner patrons turned their heads to Tekkati, eyes wide.</p><p>"Hm, well, that... that's, um..." Eza said, scratching the back of her head.</p><p>"That's very... unique," Khera said.</p><p>"Ah, well, it's..." Muse stuttered. "Um... so Khera! How've you been?"</p><p>"Ah, I've been fine," she said. "Still been looking for a boyfriend. Last guy shot me down hard."</p><p>"How hard?" Tekkati asked.</p><p>"Like... 'doesn't like tall girls' hard," Khera said, leaning back and looking at the ceiling. "And now I'm depressed again."</p><p>"Oof," Tekkati said with a wince.</p><p>"Like I said: he's a jackass," Eza chimed in.</p><p>"Oh, dear," Muse said, pulling up a chair to their booth and taking a seat. "May I ask you something?"</p><p>Khera tilted her head. "Um, sure?"</p><p>"Why do you want a boyfriend?"</p><p>Khera paused for a moment. This wasn't something she really thought about.</p><p>"I mean, does she need a reason?" Eza asked. "People wanna be loved, right?"</p><p>Tekkati nodded. "Plus, she never had a boyfriend before."</p><p>"<em>Don't need to be reminded!</em>" the orc girl said.</p><p>"Ack, sorry!" Tekkati squeaked.</p><p>Muse nodded. "Yes, it's normal to want love, Khera dear," the old cat-woman said. "There's certainly nothing wrong with it. But if there's one thing to remember, it's that love is not something to be chased."</p><p>"Huh? It's... what?" Khera said.</p><p>"Love is like happiness. If you chase after it, you'll never have it. It needs to come to you."</p><p>"Aw, that's boring!" Eza bemoaned. "C'mon, Muse!"</p><p>Muse chuckled. "Perhaps it's a little boring to young girls like you-"</p><p>"I'm twenty-nine," Tekkati muttered as Muse continued.</p><p>"-But when you're my age, you'll have the benefit of hindsight. I made many mistakes growing up, trying to chase happiness, and coming up empty each time. I used to live on a farm, you know, but one day, when I was twelve, I ran away from home to live in a big city."</p><p>"Woah, really?" Khera gasped, her eyes wide.</p><p>"Oh, it was quite the adventure. I wanted to be a singer, and I actually became very popular for a while. I made many friends, and quite a lot of money too. I was happy, but pretty soon, I remembered my family. They were definitely worried sick about me, no doubt about it. I tried pushing aside my feelings, but one day... it ended."</p><p>"Hm? What did?" Tekkati asked.</p><p>"My fame," Muse replied. "It ran out. My 'fifteen minutes,' as humans like to say. I lost all my friends, my home, and eventually all my money, too. So I crawled back home, without a penny to my name..."</p><p>"Oh, that's sad," Khera said.</p><p>Muse smiled. "Not quite. As I walked home, I started noticing things. Smaller things, like trees, clouds, and rocks. I started seeing them as <em>beautiful</em> things. When I walked all the way to that city, I took the exact same road, but noticed none of them. I didn't take notice of such a beautiful world because I was so focused on finding happiness."</p><p>Khera tilted her head again. She nodded before taking a slow sip of her drink.</p><p>"And yet," Muse continued, "I found happiness there, <em>real</em> happiness. I began to appreciate the world around me, and <em>there</em> I discovered joy for the first time. Joy isn't found in big things," she said, turning to Eza and Tekkati, "like the thrill of a motorcycle ride, or owning a famous restaurant. It's found in <em>smaller</em> things. Things like a conversation with a friend, or a good bowl of soup."</p><p>"So... what should I do?" Khera asked. "Should I just... give up on finding love?"</p><p>"You're already loved," Muse said, turning to face the orc girl with a warm smile. "When I finally arrived home from that trip, I was sure my family would hate me for abandoning them. But they <em>didn't</em>. They loved me even more now that I was home. I wanted to be loved by so many people when the only people I needed love from were right there the whole time."</p><p>Muse took Khera's hand and gestured towards Eza and Tekkati. "You're already loved," the old cat-woman said. "Loved by so, so many people."</p><p>The dragon and goblin girls smiled at their orc friend. She smiled back, tears in her eyes. "Thanks, Muse."</p><p>"Anytime, Khera. But just remember," Muse said as she stood up, "I'm not discouraging you from finding a boyfriend. Rather, I want to encourage you to enjoy the smaller things in life. They're sweeter things, anyway. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to continue my job," she said with a grin. "Tekkati, would you like anything, dear?"</p><p>"Just a Pixie Cola," the goblin girl replied.</p><p>"And, um..." Khera said, "Can I get a refill?"</p><p>"Of course," Muse said, leaving to get their request.</p><p>Khera looked at her friends. "I... I'm really glad to be your friend," she said, grinning, tears welling up in her eyes.</p><p>"Same," Tekkati said, smiling.</p><p>"Yeah, definitely," Eza replied. "But don't cry, alright? You're gonna make me cry, dammit!"</p><p>The girls laughed, and began to talk about other things as Muse returned with their drinks. As she drank her soda, Khera began to savor it - all of it: the jovial conversation with her closest friends, the sweet taste of the fizzling soda, the soft seats of the diner's booths, even the blue and yellow of the table where they sat. All of it became <em>sweet</em> to her, when she hardly paid mind to it before.</p><p>The orc girl couldn't help but smile. She found her joy, with friends she loved, in a diner she adored.</p>
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